For some reason, it bothers me that they make such a big deal out of Brady and Sami being "brother and sister"...its only by marriage, and Sami never referred to John as her dad once. Why do they push it so much? Can't they just be cousins?

I watched yesterday's show and Rafe is still bugging the shit out of me. He is coming off as this smug asshole hypocrite with this personal vendetta (love the word) against Nicole. I know I am supposed to be rooting for him to reveal the truth and for Nicole to go down and all, but I was so happy that Nicole won his little convent test. I'll probably be rooting for Nicole now that Rafe is the one to figure it out.

AS looked great, and I liked her cozy little talk with Brady in the pub.Nicole and Stefano are always a bright spot.

Hope/Dean/Ciara was pretty intense, and I liked the ending of each clip. Very dramatic.

And I know I was a big skeptic at first, especially because of her Passions background, but LH is just kicking all kinds of ass over FT when it comes to being Arianna. I couldn't imagine FT bringing half of the life that LH has. I am enjoying her as an actress. Too bad that I don't care for the character.

I pretty much agree with your take on everything. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed yesterday's show...all of it.

First of all, the Hope/Ciara/Dean/Justin stuff was absolutely great. The little one(s) that plays Ciara have just been stellar...and I can't help but find myself really worrying over her. :P KA was fantastic - particularly in the scene where she was at the door with Justin and giving him the clue that they were in trouble. The pace was great - and just as you said, each segment ended dramatically.

I don't know if I'm supposed to feel sympathetic to Bo right now - but PR isn't selling it if that's the case. He came across as a total jerk in his scenes with Justin and with Victor. I never, ever thought I'd say this as I've always been a Bope fan...but I think a little Jupe might be refreshing. ;)

Philip and Melanie were meh - not because the actors didn't do a good job, but I just don't care. And I actually like the character of Melanie - but they've pretty much killed Philip for me with the back and forth over the 'love of his life' for about five minutes Stephanie. Melanie deserves better...and his name is Nathan. :wub:

Nicole and Rafe were actually fun to watch. AZ had me laughing out loud at the end of the segment in the convent "Ain't that right, sis?" :lol: She made Rafe look like...what did EJ call him?? Oh yes, a jackass. Good description! I think it might stick. I never would have thought I'd be rooting for Nicole in the baby switch reveal but I thoroughly enjoyed watching her make jackass look like the total tool he is. Great stuff! And then with Stefano, when she asks him about what happened to Sr. Theresa and he does the sign of the cross and says, "A nun? Bite your tongue woman!" I was :roflol: AZ and JM are absolutely great together!

Is it me, or did Alison Sweeney seem to have the same stunned reaction on her face as most of the viewers did when Brady referred to himself as Sami's older brother? :$ I enjoyed their scene together, but it definitely came across as a bit forced. Particularly given that they were commiserating about a sister and brother who happen to be their current 'loves'. Weird, much?

And finally, I thought James Scott was stellar during his scenes in the park. It was nice to see him playing the controlled rage with a lot more control. Not the yelling and screaming...the angrier he got talking about Grace the quieter he spoke. THAT is the EJ I love...the guy who can show every emotion but not have to scream it out at the top of his lungs. And I loved the way AS played the scene as well. It seemed like Sami was actually taking in the impact her deception regarding the baby had done to him - how deeply she hurt him. I found it interesting that the scene started with her being very friendly - mentioning to EJ the e-mail of pictures of Johnny. I had the impression she felt they are back to the co-parenting, somewhat friendly relationship they shared prior to Grace's death...she seemed surprised to find that EJ is still so angry. The scene was overly heavy with anvils of what's to come - EJ asking her how she'd feel if a child she'd just given birth to was ripped away from her without giving her a chance to know her. DUH! We get it writers... :huh: But it's no surprise that I can enjoy just about any EJami interaction we get, particularly since it's been so few and far between. I thought this scene was better than much of what we've seen from them for months.